The decision by Eric Pickles and the Department for Communities & Local Government (DCLG) to stop allowing the payroll department to deduct union subscriptions direct from salary – as has been custom and practice for years – is being challenged in the High Court next Tuesday 3rd September.

The lack of appetite from civil servants to become part of a ‘mutual' is proved today by the announcement the next in line for part-privatisation is a small team wedded to the Cabinet Office's ideology, the Public and Commercial Services union said.

Government plans announced today (8) to cut the time union representatives can spend supporting their colleagues coincides with a wider threat to working conditions and is politically driven, the Public and Commercial Services union says.

Equality staff will strike tomorrow (23) against cuts that risk winding the clock back four decades and abandoning people who face discrimination and prejudice, the Public and Commercial Services union announces.

Senior elected representatives of the Public and Commercial Services union, by far the largest union in the civil service, today (11) confirmed a rejection of the government's planned cuts to public sector pensions.

The government has acknowledged concerns raised by the Treasury select committee about a problem with leadership in Revenue and Customs but the continuing drive to cut staff will only worsen the situation, says PCS.

Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude's continuing claims that his attempt at mutualising a government body enjoys staff support is completely undermined by figures that show almost no employees see the benefits.

With youth unemployment hitting a record high and the total number of people out of work the highest since the Tories were last in office, the Public and Commercial Services union says the government must take urgent action to reverse the damage it is doing to our economy.

The latest estimate of public sector job cuts confirms the Public and Commercial Services union's view that they are damaging our economy and raises serious questions about the independence of the Office for Budget Responsibility.